


Speechless

by MrAudioDrama



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Angst, Based on Awalkingparadox11s animatics!, Gen, Juno Is Gonna Stand Up For Himself!!!, Juno Steel Needs a Hug, Royalty AU, The Steel Twins, We can have Little a Queen Mira, as a treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:40:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22594936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrAudioDrama/pseuds/MrAudioDrama
Summary: Royalty AU in which Juno realizes he has a voice and needs to use it(Written as a gift and based off of AWalkingParadox11’s animatic!!)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 40





	Speechless

Juno Steel prided himself on being hard to shake. Years of dealing with Ma, arguing with Benten, and trying to look pretty and keep his mouth _shut_ , had granted him that much. So he didn’t understand why the thief’s words had moved him so.

“My Queen, thank you for granting me an audience” Juno bowed, watching the monarch carefully. Juno rarely requested to speak to his mother, she never wanted to listen to what he had to say. Benten was the favorite, Juno was a statement. Benten would inherit the throne, Juno would smile and cut ribbons when Ma told him to. 

Why was he here? What was he trying to accomplish? What right did Juno, who Ma claimed had almost brought the kingdom to its knees, have to question the _Queen_. “Hurry it up, Juno” Sarah’s voice was just cold enough to snap Juno from his thoughts, “I have an audience with a visiting noble after this,”

Ma already seemed bored, “It has been brought to my attention... um” Juno coughed, “uh, it just seems to me...”  
  
“Don’t stumble over your words, it’s unladylike” bit the Queen. Right. Juno’s one job, other than being there for Benten. He had to act like a lady, queenly in his own right. Benten might choose to marry him off after all, he should be ready.   
  
“Apologies, my Queen. I am here to inquire on speaking with the council of finance. It has been brought to my attention that the people are struggling,” Juno looked up to meet her eyes, what was he doing? Ma had told him time and time again that he had no business in politics. What had that thief _done_ to him. Juno didn’t do this sort of thing!   
  
“It is none of your concern, _Princess_. Or have you forgotten?” Had Juno forgotten letting the royal advisor into Ma’s quarters because no one knew he was a traitor? To be honest, he didn’t have any memory of the actual event. Just memories of being told it was his fault the peace treaty with Olympus Mons had fallen to bits. 

Juno remembered what the thief had said, “You’re miserable here, aren’t you?” and he was right. He was the Princess, but he was no more than a mannequin. There to appease the people, to placate his brother and take attention away from his mother.

He remembered what he’d told the thief as well, “The Royals don’t care,” he’d said, “They’re too caught up in their riches to give a damn about the people down below,”  
  
“Are you any different?” asked the thief, Juno thinks that he already knew the answer.   
  
Juno wishes he was different. He wants to _help_ people, not look down and wave at them from his ivory tower. “Look! It’s the Princess! He’s smiling at us!” people would say. He was the only one who bothered with public appearances, the only one who attended public events and parties and openings and festivals. Other royals needn’t be bothered with _peasant_ work.

Damn it all if Juno didn’t care about them, “Then who’s concern is it?” the words escape him before he can shove them down. He knew the Queen never attended meetings, it was common knowledge among those in the palace that she believed them to be beneath her.

The look she sent him was unfeeling, “I don’t like repeating myself Juno,” he looked down on instinct, “It is certainly none of _yours_ ”

“The people need _help!”_ he shot back, “They need their _Queen_ ! Please, Ma. If you won’t help them, then let me!” his eyes had moved up once again to meet her, she was looking at him with cold indifference. He had upset her, it seemed. He’s seen that look far too many times over the course of his life not to recognize it.   
  
“Quiet, little monster” she demands, he fights the urge to look at the ground once more, “Do not claim to know better than the queen, or i’ll have you _arrested_ for treason” that sucks the air straight out of his lungs. Arrested for _treason_. He knows she means it, and he knows there would be no coming back from that. 

His eyes find the floor again, and he bows, “Apologies, mother. I was out of line,” stupid thief, he thinks. Dreams of rebelling against his mother were dreams for a younger Juno, one who didn’t know any better.  
  
“Much better,” she smiles, “It appears you’ve forgotten some of your manners though, i’m disappointed little monster,” his eyes don’t leave the floor as she motions for him to leave her, “I’ll have to teach you them again”

He does not look up as he leaves the throne room, ladies are meant to be respectful, after all. He nearly crumples when the door closes behind him. What was he thinking? He had already known Ma wasn’t going to listen. 

“Stand up straight Juno”  
  
“Eyes front Juno”   
  
“Mouth _shut_ , Juno”

“Mind your manners, Juno”  
  
“Ladies never raise their voice, Juno”

He was miserable here. The thief had been able to tell with only one conversation’s worth of information. Could he really sit by and watch the people suffer? Could he be content smiling behind Benten for the rest of his life?

He composes himself and walks as a lady should down the hallway, he runs into Benten and hopes the anguish in his eyes is well hidden. Silence hangs between them, he warned Benten of his plans. It was clear it had ended poorly, and their relationship feels as if it is hidden within that silence. Waiting for someone to break it. 

Looking back on it, Juno still wouldn’t be able to tell you who made the choice to look away first, but they looked away from each other, unable to voice what they were both thinking. _Something has to change._

On Juno’s end, it is Sarah who needs to change. He needs people to start listening to him, damn it! He’s the _Princess_ of the _Kingdom of Hyperion_. He should not feel as if his voice matters less than that of a gnat. It is odd, though, that it is a thief who taught him that.

Benten, in whatever sick twist it took in his mind, thinks Juno is what needs to change. Vilifying the queen, their _mother_ , is going to get him nowhere! The Queen isn’t as bad as Juno seems to think she is... he can’t believe that. She loves them! She loves Juno, he knows this. He has to be certain of it, there’s no other way for the Crown Prince to act.

Juno wanders the halls and tries not to dwell on how Benten looked at him, as if he were pitiable. He sorts his feelings as he feels the eyes of past monarchs stare down at him. He cannot let himself be silenced, he cannot let himself go speechless because Ma _looked_ at him the wrong way. 

He still feels ashamed, it sits hot in his gut. His mind tells him he’s supposed to act like a lady. He’s supposed to listen to his mother, keep his head out of politics. Ladies were far more suited to pretty dresses and nice smiles and lightly chatting with Ma’s allies. 

He feels angry. Angry that Ma silenced him, angry that he didn’t get louder. He should’ve called her bluff. He was still the Princess, go ahead and lock him away. What good will it do? He was the only one the people liked! He was angry that the thief had managed to shake his world view in one singular day. He was angry that Benten seemed to be taking Ma’s side. 

He will not be speechless anymore, he will not be silent in the face of corruption. He looks up at the past monarchs this time. Would they be proud of Ma? Of what she has let Hyperion become? 

Are they ashamed of him? Would they be proud of his decision? He stills in front of the portrait of Queen Mira. _Grandmother_ , he corrects. She had always protected him from Ma, taught him everything he knows about being a leader. Queen Mira was known for being The Queen of the People, he desperately hopes he can live up to that as her granddaughter. 

Ma expects nothing from him, she believes him incompetent. The Queen has _told_ him he is good only for smiling and waving, that he will make a great wife someday. He will not be underestimated. 

Juno Steel is intelligent, he is strong, brave, and _stubborn_. If Ma wants to lock him away, so be it. He told the thief he could make a _difference_ if he stayed, more than he could in the rebellion. He’s not sure he could live with himself if he didn’t at least try to make it through.

He stands below her portrait, her eyes hold the same cold indifference they do when she’s upset. A warning to those who’d dare cross her. Juno looks back with a fire in his eyes he’d thought long extinguished, “You can’t silence me. Not anymore”

The Princess turns on his heel, and heads towards the throne room. Towards a future he can’t predict. And he _smiles._


End file.
